NCAA Changes Could Mean UConn Might Host Women's Regionals

September 24, 2013|By JOHN ALTAVILLA, jaltavilla@courant.com, The Hartford Courant

Among the suggestions emerging Monday as the leadership of women's college basketball met at NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis was one that could eventually establish UConn as a permanent host of first- and second-round tournament games.

Among the recommendations were those that will revamp the NCAA Tournament. There will be two super regionals, possibly as early as 2015, with eight teams each, feeding into the Women's Final Four, instead of the current four-regional format with four teams at each site.

These super regionals would be held on a semi-permanent basis in the same city, much like the NCAA's baseball World Series in Omaha, Neb., to allow a community a chance to market the event.

"The idea comes from the suggestion of whether there is a benefit in promoting continuity within these sites," said Anucha Browne, NCAA vice president for women's basketball. "Everyone knows where the [baseball] tournament is going to be held. So we hope that by having a system where we can select three sights [for the super regionals and Final Four] that have shown success in attracting interest in the game, and use them on a rotating basis, we can achieve [what baseball has]."

UConn could conceptually decide to bid for a super-regional — and host it in Hartford, Gampel Pavilion, Webster Bank Arena or the Mohegan Sun Arena, beginning in 2015.

However, schools currently are not allowed to host both subregional and regional events in the same season and UConn's national preeminence would likely ensure it would host early rounds as a result of a recommendation that the top 16 seeds in the tournament bracket, beginning in 2014, be asked to host first- and second-round games.

It is hard to imagine UConn ever slipping below a top 16 seed, meaning it would always be hosting first- and second-round games, making the Huskies ineligible to host another round unless the rules changed again. That is fine with UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

Auriemma, who attended Monday's meeting along with Hartford's Jen Rizzotti, is among those coaches not in favor of an institution, such as eight-time national champion UConn, hosting a super-regional because of the unfair competitive advantage it would create.

The NCAA might select a location such as Bridgeport or Mohegan Sun Arena for a future super-regional since it technically could be hosted by a conference or school not affiliated with UConn or The American, its new home.

Fairfield or the MAAC could host at Bridgeport, which has happened many times. The Atlantic-10 Conference or the University of Rhode Island could submit to host at Mohegan Sun, if they so choose. Both would naturally favor UConn while still conforming to the rules.

It would then be up to the NCAA's Tournament committee to decide whether either of those state sites met the many other criteria required to be invited to sign a multiple-year deal as a subregional host.

Another proposed change is to a Friday-Sunday format to replace the Sunday-Tuesday format that has been in place for years. That shift also is likely to take place beginning with the 2015 Final Four in Tampa, Fla. There also is a plan to conduct championships for all three divisions on the same weekend for the 2016 Women's Final Four, which will be held in Indianapolis.

All recommendations must be approved by the NCAA in October with the only change likely to have immediate impact immediately being the Top 16 seeds asked to host first- and second-round games for the 2014 tournament. There will still be four regional finals of four teams each, assigned through a bidding process that will produce Final Four teams this season.

"We are talking about 2015 and beyond," Browne said. "Since we already have Final Four sights set through 2016 [Indianapolis] there are some complexities involved in going back to these sights and trying to invoke change. But we are in the process of contacting them to discuss."